In a short turnaround, the Panthers (8-13) earned a return trip north to take on Central Catholic of Portland, the state's top-ranked squad, on Wednesday.

"It's going to be a hard team to work with," said Panthers coach Sarah Costa of Central Catholic. "As long as we play hard and do our best, that's all we can ask. The No. 1 team in state — it's going to be a tough push, but I know we're all excited about it."

After South Medford sprung to an 8-4 lead in the fifth set, the Scots made a final push to cut the advantage to 11-9.

From there, the Panthers used a couple of key service points from Sporer, then controlled the pace.

Outside hitter Nicole Bell also made a big contribution for South with 16 kills, 16 digs and two blocks.